fair 
I have found out a gift for my fair ; 
I have found where the wood-plgeoiu lireed. 
Hliriiltnne, Pastoral, ii. 
2f. Fairness; beauty. 
Are not my tresses curled with such art 
As love delights to hide him iu their/air.' 
Greene and Lodge, Looking Glass for Lond. and Eng. 
My ilecayed fair 
A sunny look of his would soon repair. 
Shak., C. of E., ii. 1. 
The fair, woman ; the female sex ; specifically, the young 
and beautiful of that sex : usually collective, as plural, but 
sometimes as singular. 
None but the brave deserves the fair. 
Dryden, Alexander's Feast. 
It would be uncourtly to speak in harsher words to the 
fair, but to men one may take a little more freedom. 
Steele, Spectator, No. 294. 
To him with anger or with shame repair 
The injured peasant and deluded fair. 
Crabbe, Works, I. 22. 
fair 1 (far), adv. [< ME. faire, fayre, feire, < AS. 
antly, < forger, 
civilly; com- 
2120 
fair-mindedness 
poitunities for commercial transactions, and this origin is fairies' -horse (far'iz-hors) w 
commemorated in the German word messe, which means _...... Oiauifin Tar-nhim* 
both the mass and a fair (see kermeis). See market. /W m . l> ' C ^"i J""" "* 
fames'-table (far'i/.-ta bl), n. 
A Fair is a greater Kind of Market, granted to any 
In Ireland, the 
In the north of 
Town by Privilege, for the more speedy and commodious w l<"8, the common mushroom, Agaricus caw- 
providing of such Things as the Place stain' ' 
:ids iu need of. ]>estris, and similar fungi. 
They are generally kept once or twice in a Year fairily (far'i-li), ailr. In a fairy-like manner ; 
in a manner or fashion suggestive of the han- 
fair at any place seems to have always arisen from the 
burial there of some great or renowned personage. 
H'. K. Sullican, Introd. to O'Uurry's Anc. Irish, I. 
[cccxxvi. 
diwork of fairies ; as fairies. 
Numerous as shadows haunting fairily 
The brain. Keats, Eve of St. Agues. 
Bourne's Pop. Antiq. (1777), p. 357. 
I have already mentioned that the Aenach, or fair, 
which was, as we have seen, an assembly of the whole peo- 
ple of a Tuath or province, was always held at the place 
of burial of the kings and nobles. The institution of a 
See what a lovely shell, . . . 
Made so fairily well 
With delicate spire and whorl. 
Tfiuiutun, Maud, xxiv. 1. 
In early English times the great/am, annual and other, *_._,_,_ ,.~ ,. . ,, ,. . 
formed the chief meansof distribution, and remained im- lairing (tar ing), n. [< f<itr* 
portant down to the seventeenth century. ... On the " 
Lower Niger, "every town has a market once in four 
ftrgere, fiegre, beautifully, pleasantly, <fa:ger, 
fair: see fair 1 , a.] 1. Kindly; 
plaisautly ; courteously. 
Weelcome/at're thi neiboris that comeii to thee warde 
With mete, drinke, & honest chere. 
Jiabees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 44. 
When he speaketh fair, believe him not ; for there are 
seven abominations in his heart. Prov. xxvi. 25. 
Get me a guard about me ; make sure the lodgings, 
And speak the soldiers /air. 
Fletcher, Loyal Subject, iv. 6. 
2. Honorably; honestly. 
And alle tho that ben fals/ajro hem amende, 
And syue hem wijt & good will. 
Piers Plowman's Crede (E. E. T. S.), 1. 853. 
Heaven shield, my mother play'd my father fair. 
Shak., M. forM., ill. 1. 
3. Auspiciously; favorably; happily. 
With that departed Merlin fro blase, that lenger ne 
wolde not tarie, but dide his message well and feire, flor iaiT 3 t, n. 
on the morowe by pryme he come to Citee of Cannes. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), ii. 143. 
The ship is in her trim : the merry wind 
Blows/air from land. Shak., C. of E., iv. 1. 
4. Fairly; clearly. 
When we came aboard our Ship again, we steered away 
for the Island Mindanao, which was now fair in sight of us. 
Dampier, Voyages, I. 309. 
5. Correctly; straight or direct, as in aiming or 
hitting Fair and square, honestly ; justly; straight- 
forwardly. 
days," and at different parts of the river a large fair once 
a fortnight. //. Spencer, Prin. of Sociol., '240. 
2. An occasional joint exhibition of articles for 
sale or inspection; a sale or an exhibition of 
goods for the promotion of some public interest 
or the aid of some public charity (see bazaar, 
2): as, an agricultural fair; a church fair. 
A church fair, or any fair, in fact, always seems to me 
like a contrivance to get a great deal of money for very 
little value, by putting off unmarketable goods on unwill- 
ing purchasers ... on the pretense of doing good. 
Wm. Allen Butler, Mrs. Limber's Raffle. 
3t. Market; chance of selling. 
Forstalleth my feire, nhteth in my chepynges, 
Breketh vp my berne-dore, and bereth awei my whete. 
Piers Plmcman(k), iv. 48. 
After the fair, the day after the fair, too late. 
-ing.] 1. A 
present bought or given at a fair, or brought 
from a fair. 
Give me your hand, we are near x pedlar's shop ; 
Out with your purse, we must have fairinrjs now. 
Greene, Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay. 
Sweet hearts, we shall be rich ere we depart 
If fairings come thus plentifully in : 
A lady ' 
lady wall'd about with diamonds ! 
Shak., L. L. L., v. 2. 
I have gold left to give thee a fairing yet. 
A 1 . Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, ii. 1. 
" What fairings will ye that I bring?" 
Said the King to his daughters three. 
Lowell, Singing Leaves. 
2. Ironically, something unpleasant bestowed 
as a gift. [Scotch.] 
Ah, Tarn '. ah, Tarn ! thou 11 get thy fairin' ! 
In hell they'll roast tbee like a herrin' ! 
Burns, Tarn o' Shanter. 
ballad, be it neuer s^good *$*!** fair-leader (far'le"der) n. Naut. : () A thim- 
Bartholomewfair. See Bartholomew aa v , under da,,.. ^ orcr le to guide 6) A strip 
Fancy fair, a special sale of fancy articles for a benev- of board L wlth *le in it for running rigging 
olent or charitable object. [Eng.] Statute fair. See to pass through and be kept clear, 
ftat ute-fair. ______ ... so as to be easily distinguished at 
night. 
Doing; fairly (far'li), adv. [< ME. fayrely 
(= ODan. fagerlig, faveriig, fagrligr, 
a.); </ari + -fy 2 .] 1. In a fair inau- 
[< OF. faire, do (inf. as a noun), < 
L. facere, do: see affair and fact.] 
action; affair. 
At that parleament swa did he 
Wit gret/at/r and soltmnyte. 
Harbour MS., xx. 126. (Jamieson.) 
Harke, brethir, waites wele aboute, 
For in oure fayre we ffynde no frende; 
The Jewes with strengh are storne and stoute, 
And scharpely schapes them vs to scheude. 
York Plays, p. 470. 
Allace, how now ! this is an haisty/air. 
Priests of Peblis (Pinkerton's Scottish Poems, I. 38). 
If he could only have looked fair and square at them, a fair*t " Same as /arc 2 
man about to speak to men ami^omCTmCTely.^ ^ ^ fair-bodingt (far'bo"ding), a. Auspicious; fa- 
Fair fall, well betide, good luck to. ~ "-' 
Scotch.) 
Fair fa ' ilk canny caidgy carl ! 
Weel may he bruik his new apparel ! 
[Prov. Eng. and 
ilayne, Siller Gun, p. 14. 
The sweetest sleep, and fairest-boding dreams 
That ever enter'd in a drowsy head, 
Have I since your departure had, my lords. 
Shak., Rich. III., T. S. 
To bid fair, lead fair, etc. See the verbs. fair-bookt (far'buk), n. A book in which a stu- 
fair 1 (far), r. [< ME. fayren, make beautiful, dent writes out examples of mathematical pro- 
intr. become beautiful, < AS. fwgrian, become 
beautiful, dfatgrian, make beautiful, < f&ger, 
beautiful.] 
tiful. 
I. trans. 1. To make fair or beau- 
For since each hand hath put on nature's power, 
Fairing the foul with art s false borrow'd face, 
Sweet beauty hath no name, no holy bower. 
Shak., Sonnets, cxxvii. 
cesses. 
I have seen a fair-book (as 'tis called) of a young man s 
about 17 years of age, who had been 6 years at school but 
never went through that rule. H'. Wallu. 
fair-conditioned (far 'kon -dish *ond), a. Of 
good disposition. Halliicell. 
fair-faced (far'fast), a. 1. Having a fair face. The ^"n ' tne twelfth century is fairly good and 
2. Double-faced ; flatteringly deceptive ; pro- K rammatical L? 11 ?-. 
ner. (a) Beautifully; handsomely. 
Within a trading town their long abide, 
Full fairly situate on a haven's side. 
Dryden. 
(6) Honestly; justly; equitably; honorably. 
My chief care 
Is to come fairly off from the great debts 
Wherein my time, something too prodigal, 
Hath left me gag'd. Shak. M. of V., i. 1. 
If you are noble enemies, 
Oppress me not with odds, but kill me fairly ! 
Fletcher (and another). Love's Cure, i. 3. 
(c) Fully ; clearly ; distinctly. 
Degree being vizarded, 
The unwortliiest shows as fairly in the mask. 
Shak., T. and C., i. 3. 
I interpret fairly your design. Dryden. 
(d) Reasonably ; moderately ; measurably ; considerably. 
Such arcades must be bad indeed to be wholly unsatis- 
factory, and some of those at Gorizia are very fairly done. 
E. A-. Freeman, Venice, p. 49. 
In a fairly coherent dream everything seems quite real. 
H'. A'. Clifford, Lectures, II. 141. 
. 
2. Naut, to adjust ; make regular, or fair and fessing great love or kindness without reality, 
smooth ; specifically, to form in correct shape, fairfleldite (far'feld-It), n. [< Fairfield (see 
as the timbers of a ship. def . ) + -ite 2 .] A hydrous phosphate of calcium 
Hence a fairing, or correcting process, has to be per- and manganese, of a nearly white color and 
formed before the timbers can be laid off. pearly luster, found at Branchville, Fairfield 
__ . Thearle.l Naval Arch., 9. CO unty. Connecticut, and also in Bavaria. 
II. mtrans. If. To become fair or beautiful, fair-finished (far'fin'isht), . Bleached for bri- 
2. To clear up; cease raining: applied to dies and for some kinds of ladies' shoes: said 
the weather, m reference to preceding rain: o f leather. This use of/air appears also in the old 
followed commonly by up or off. [Scotch.] phrase fair-top boots that is, boots with tops of light- 
Ringan was edging gradually off, with the remark that Colored leather. 
Stubbi, Medieval and Modem Hist., p. 152. 
() Absolutely; positively; actually; completely: an in- 
tensive or emphatic word : as, I am fairly worn out ; the 
wheels fairly spun. 
My lords about my bed, 
Wishing to God that I were fairly dead. 
William Morris, Earthly Paradise, I. 346. 
2f. Softly; gently. 
But here she comes : If airly step aside, 
And hearken, if I may her business here. 
Milton, Conin, 1. 168. 
_Hpoly and fairly. See hooly. 
it didna seem like tSfair. Tte Smugglers,' 1.162. fair-ground (far'ground), n. The grounds in fr**-** 4 , (far 'mad'), 1 A local (west - 
The afternoon faired up; grand clouds still voyaged in which an agricultural or other fair is held, county) English name of the dned pilchard. 
the sky, but now singly, and with a depth of blue around [U. S.] 
their path. R. L. Stevenson, Inland Voyage, p. 199. 
To fair off or fair up, for "clear off " or "clear up," is 
marked Southwestern in Bartlett. It is very common, 
2. A local Virginian name of the porgy, scup, 
r scuppaug, Stenotomus clirysops. 
The owners of horses and mules were coining money, r scuppaug, enoom 
transporting people to the fair-ground. fair-maids-of-February (far'madz'ov-feb'ro- 
C. D. Warner, Roundabout Journey, p. 199. a-ri), n. A book-name for the snowdrop, Galan- 
ili us niralis. 
fair-maids-of-France (far'madz'ov-frans'), n. 
fo . . , ------ j --- , , -- , ^^. ^.^ ,, !/ ,,^,.^,,. A double-flowered variety of a cultivated crow- 
)i! J e i,J<re, t . joire = Pr.Jieyra,feira, fiera nucha, under ligamentum. [Scotch.] foot, Ranunculus aconitifolius. 
= hp. fena = Pg.fetra = It. fiera, a fair, < fairheadt, . [ME. fairhede, fairehede, fayre- fair-minded (far'mm'ded), a. Judging fairly 
ML. Jena, a fair, a holiday, L. usually pl.ferue ), ene , etc. (= Dan. faaerhed = Sw. fagerhet), and justly ; forming just and correct opinions ; 
(> D. G.f<men = Dan. Sw. ferie, sing., ferier, V ar. ot fairliood.] Fairness ; beauty. ' upright. 
pi., vacation, holidays), holidays orig */MJOL Thenke alle d on hir ' /ai>A<!ae f 
akmtofestus, a feast: see festal, feast.] 1. A Horn, of the Rose, l. 24S4 
stated market in a particular town or city; a The forme of Mfayrehede apon me es feste. 
regular meeting of buyers and sellers for trade. York Plays, p. 3. 
Among the most celebrated fairs iu Europe are those of Thurch his fairhede as fast he foil* into n 
Frankfort-on-the-Main and Leipsic in Germany, of Nijni- Dettructfm $Vro '(E E T S ) 1 4409 
Novgorod in Russia, and of Lyons in Fran 
Novgorod in Russia, and of Lyons in France. Fairs appear f-j-i......!. , f3l ./, . j, 
to have originated in church festivals, which, from thegreat lairnoottt (tar hud), n. A later form of Middle 
, , 
concourseof people at such times, afforded convenient op- English fairhede. 
It is limited by and regulated upon principles which, I 
think, afford little room for difference of opinion among 
fair-minded and moderate men. Brougham. 
fair-mindedness (far'mln'ded-nes), n. The 
quality or character of being fair-minded. 
A spirit of fainnindednetfs, and a rare promptness in . 
seizing the strategic points of every situation. 
A'. A. Ken., C'XLV. 385. 
